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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/23704741">Night birds sing better when no one listens</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/SilverLions/pseuds/SilverLions'>SilverLions</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Voltron: Legendary Defender</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Bilingual Lance (Voltron), Comfort, Cuban Lance (Voltron), Fluff and Angst, Gen, Homesick Lance (Voltron), I'm Bad At Summaries, I'm Bad At Tagging, Insecure Lance (Voltron), Insomnia, Keith (Voltron) Swears, Keith (Voltron) is Bad at Feelings, Lance (Voltron) Speaks Spanish, Platonic Relationships, Singing Lance (Voltron), midnight talks</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-04-17</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-04-17</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-02 19:47:30</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>3,393</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/23704741</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/SilverLions/pseuds/SilverLions</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Keith suffers from insomnia, the stillness of the castle not helping him fall asleep. A quick trip to the kitchen might show him that he's no the only one who suffers when it comes to sleep.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Keith &amp; Lance (Voltron)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>72</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Night birds sing better when no one listens</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><ul class="associations">
      <li>For <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/users/Natascha743/gifts">Natascha743</a>.</li>



    </ul></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Fucking insomnia. Keith had always known he really wasn’t a morning person, and he was ok with it, but that didn’t mean he liked being wide awake at 4:00 am.</p>
<p>He kept changing his position in bed, irritated, knowing it wouldn’t do much to help him find sleep, but doing it anyways because what else could he do. He had been banned form the training wing from 10:00 pm to 7:00 am because “It wasn’t healthy for him to spend so much time in there”, so training his ass to exertion was not an option. He definitely didn’t feel like wandering the halls of the castle like a lost soul, didn’t want to wake anyone up by accident and he didn’t see the point in wasting his night in something that wouldn’t help him in any way.</p>
<p>He also thought of asking Coran or Shiro for help. He knew very well that they would help him, but they would also worry and that couldn’t be beneficial for the team in any way. So no, no asking for help right now.</p>
<p>He rolled to his side again. Took his pillow and flipped it over. Kicked the sheets out of the bed and stood up to place them back. Everything was too hot, the blankets, pillows and his clothes; but he knew the air in the castle was freezing and getting rid of all of it would cause him to wake up with a cold. The mattress was way too soft and he felt like sinking in it, the blanket was itchy and too rough. The air smelled fake, synthetic, like hospital beds and those government buildings and nursing wings. Everything in him screamed wrong, wrong wrong wrong, like some part in him knew he didn’t belong in here. And in some way, he knew he didn’t, even if he didn’t like the thought of it.</p>
<p>He finally gave up on trying to get comfortable in the bed, a headache building in the back of his skull. He was really tired, wanting to sleep more than anything, but he just couldn’t. Maybe drinking something warm might help him, it never helped him in the past, but maybe this time it could be different.</p>
<p>He rose from the bed, untangling his legs from the sheets and putting on some slippers he found under his bed. He opened his room’s door and stepped into the dimly lit hallway, closing the door behind him. He walked through endless corridors, hand on the wall to make sure he wouldn’t stumble against anything. He really wasn’t looking where he was going, too tired for that, relying mostly on his memory to guide him through the castle.</p>
<p>He was about to turn the corner that lead to the kitchen when he heard it, a hummed melody. It was really low and subtle, he was only able to hear it because of the silence that reigned the castle at night, only the constant thrumming of the engines interrupting it. He felt like maybe he shouldn’t be standing there, listening to a song that wasn’t meant for anyone to hear but the singer, but Keith just couldn’t help it. He felt drawn by the soft sound, voice deep and sweet at the same time, and so many emotions in it.</p>
<p>The song didn’t have any words in it, only a soft humming, but Keith could feel all the melancholy that was embedded on it, the sadness and the nostalgia for something long gone. He felt himself relaxing at it, heartbeat going slower and thoughts stopping for once in the night. He started getting closer to the closed kitchen doors, making sure to keep himself quiet, and then the words started flowing from beneath the doors and Keith couldn’t stop himself from gasping.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>No te fallaré</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Contigo yo quiero envejecer</em>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>If the voice itself was amazing, those simple words made it somehow a thousand times better.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>Quiero darte un beso</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Perder contigo mi tiempo</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Guardar tus secretos</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Cuidar tus momentos</em>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>It was deep and slow, sweet and hard, like honey slowly dripping of a spoon. He felt himself slowly leaning to the door, his brain had shut off long ago.</p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>Abrazarte</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Esperarte, adorarte</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Tenerte paciencia</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Tu locura es mi ciencia</em>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>The voice was so raw, every feeling and emotion could be felt just by listening. It simply was mesmerizing. He leaned completely on the door, knowing that it could open. He did not care, he just wanted to listen a little bit better…</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>Ah-ah-ah-ah</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Oh-oh-oh-oh</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Oh-oh-oh-oh, oh-oh</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Uh-uh-uh-uh</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Oh-oh-oh-oh</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Oh-oh-oh-oh, oh-oh</em>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>It started making his inside going all fuzzy and warm inside, feeling completely relaxed and, somehow, strangely loved, even though he knew those notes were not for him.</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <em>Disfruto mirarte</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Cada movimiento</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Un vicio que tengo</em>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>Only then he realized he couldn’t understand any of the lyrics, they were sung in a language unknown to him, but somehow it felt strangely familiar, like a forgotten face or a long-gone smell. He kept on leaning on the door.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>Un gusto, valorarte</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Nunca olvidarte</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Entregarte mis tiempos</em>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>Only then Keith realized why it was so familiar to him, why he felt so strangely calmed by it. He knew that voice, but he had never listened to it on this way. Lance.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>No te fallaré</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Contigo yo quiero~</em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>He leaned a little bit too much on the door, losing his footing when the door gave away. He stumbled into the kitchen, panicking when the owner of the voice saw him. He tried to regain his posture, trying to remember what he was here for and not looking like he had been hearing him in secret for the past minute.</p>
<p>“Keith? What- what are you doing here?” Lance asks, wiping quickly his eyes, not quite looking at him. “Why are up so late?”</p>
<p>Were Lance’s eyes redder than usual? Maybe, but Keith couldn’t really tell from where he was standing. “Uhm I- I couldn’t sleep so I thought about, you know, drinking something and- yeah, that.” Keith scratched the back of his neck, nervous, he could tell Lance was uncomfortable, and he knew he was part of it. “By the way, what are you doing up? Don’t you need your beauty sleep or something?”</p>
<p>He tried to make Lance smile, at least a little bit. He remembered all the sadness that song carried, he wanted all of it away from Lance.</p>
<p>“Ahh, yes. I guess I couldn’t sleep myself either.” He kind of chuckled, his smile not quite reaching his eyes the way it always does. “I woke up and realized I couldn’t sleep again, so I came down here.”</p>
<p>The atmosphere was tense again, Keith knew it was his fault and tried to do something about it, even if he wasn’t the best at this kind of stuff. He scratched his neck one more time, looking around the kitchen, looking at Lance. He was wearing a simple loose t-shirt and blue shorts. His dark brown curls were messy and he was barefoot, wasn’t the floor too cold for him? Keith’s eyes landed on the little pot on the stove, the one that Lance was working on before Keith barged in.</p>
<p>“What’s that?” he asked while pointing at the pot.</p>
<p>“This? Ahh, I was making some Manzanilla tea,” Lance answered, a sad smile in his lips, “my mama used to made it for me back home when I couldn’t sleep and I finally got some of it in a market last time we resupplied, well, something like it, but it’s close enough.” He looked down to the small pot of water in the stove and then back to Keith, who looked disheveled and almost as tired as Lance felt. “Do you want some? I have more than enough for the both of us.”</p>
<p>“Me? Yeah, sure.”</p>
<p>“Then sit down, Mullet, I’ll bring it to the table once it boils.” Lance searched through the cabinets, looking for something. “Do you take your tea with sugar?”</p>
<p>“I really don’t drink tea that much. I’ll take it however you like it.”</p>
<p>“Two of sugar, then.”</p>
<p>Lance turned off the stove, poured the water in cups and added the infusers. He walked to the table with both of the cups and left them on it. Keith was already blowing on his when he returned with the sugar and two spoons, which resulted in Lance smacking his hand away from the cup and Keith gasping, insulted.</p>
<p>“Why would you do that?” Keith questioned, rubbing his hand, “It is my tea, isn’t it? You offered it first.”</p>
<p>“Well, yeah, but you need it to let it rest before drinking it, so the plant can release whatever it needs to release and you can drink more than hot water.” Lance sat across him and looked him in the eye. Now Keith was able to see that Lance had, in fact, cried before he arrived. His eyes were puffy and a little bit red around the rim, cheeks slightly colored with tears tracks across the tan skin, lips somewhat swollen and red. If he looked really well, he could see one or two tears clinging to long eyelashes. “Did you really didn’t know this? It’s like, the basis of cooking, mister I am autonomous and can take care of myself.”</p>
<p>“Uh, what? Did you ask something?”</p>
<p>“Nothing- “ Lance turned his head to the side, watching something and nothing at the same time. The atmosphere turned tense once again, Keith fidgeted with his fingers, unsure of what else he could do to make Lance feel a little better.</p>
<p>He wanted to ask about earlier, wanted to apologized for interrupting it, wanted to praise him about his voice, wanted to comfort him and wanted to run away really fast from the kitchen, embarrassed with himself and sincerely, a little overwhelmed. He did not do any of those, just sat awkwardly across Lance at 4:00 am in the kitchen table, waiting for the tea to be done.</p>
<p>Lance slid the cup across the table to Keith, tea ready with sugar mixed on it. Lance rose the cup to his lips, blowing on it lightly before taking a sip, posture relaxing almost immediately. “Igual que el de casa” Keith heard him whisper to himself, not really knowing what he said. Copying him, Keith rose his cup, took a quite long sip and scrunched his nose, looking at Lance.</p>
<p>“Jesus, Lance, you’re gonna get diabetes or something eating this much sugar. It’s way too sweat, buddy.”</p>
<p>“Excuse me? You come to my kitchen uninvited, I share with you my precious tea and this is how you dishonor me?” he made an exaggerated gesture, like he was about to faint, “I can’t believe this, not it coming from my bud, my man. From Pidge, maybe, she is a little gremlin after all, but you!”</p>
<p>Keith couldn’t help but snort at Lance’s reaction. “It’s not even your kitchen, anyways,” Lance made a little outraged huff, “and you were the one who offered the tea, so I guess it’s your fault for trusting a tea ignorant like me.”</p>
<p>“Touché”</p>
<p>They kept drinking the tea in silence. Keith had to acknowledge that, despite being overly sweet, the tea was really good. It relaxed him and made him somehow content, grounding him to the moment. Even if they were silent, it really wasn’t uncomfortable anymore, at least Keith wasn’t. He remembered the reason why they were uncomfortable in the first place. The song still played in repeat in his head, the voice lulling and calming him.</p>
<p>“Uhm, Lance?” Keith pried, nervous all over again.</p>
<p>“Yes?”</p>
<p>“When- when I walked in, I heard the- I heard you, singing something, or humming, first it was humming.” Lance cheeks darkened a little. “What I meant is that, I think- “</p>
<p>“Don’t worry about it, man. It won’t happen again,” Lance gaze fell to his lap, hands twirling on it, “promise. Sorry about it.” Did Lance thought it had bothered him? Because it definitely didn’t, how could it?</p>
<p>“No! No, I mean, I- I think it was pretty cool man,” Keith scratched his neck, then twirled his fingers, thinking what to say, “I mean, your voice and all, it’s nice.”</p>
<p>“Thanks” Lance eyes didn’t look away from his lap.</p>
<p>“I didn’t know you could sing”</p>
<p>“Many people don’t. I used to do it all the time, everywhere, doing anything, but I stopped right after I entered the Garrison. Some people thought it was kind of annoying and I guess I didn’t want to bother them, so I just, stopped. I mean, is not the first thing I do because others find it annoying, you know?” Lance chuckled lightly, hands around the cup once again, “Lance, déjate esos dedos, que tronártelos te los va dejar chuecos. Lance, deja ese chicle, mascas muy fuerte. Lance, tus pinturas están por todos lados. Lance, your face stuff is everywhere in the room. Lance, stop taking stuff from everywhere we go. Lance, stop teasing the aliens in the meetings. Lance, stop talking all the time. Lance, can’t you stay quiet for five minutes? Lance, Lance, Lance.” He sighed, looked at Keith and smiled, but not truly, just like the last time. “I guess you could really say that I'm kind of annoying, right?”</p>
<p>Keith was lost at words; how could he think that of himself? Lance was one of the most talented, charismatic and easy-going people he knew. He could sort himself out in any kind of social situation (something that Keith could only dream of), he was an amazing pilot, a greater warrior and a spectacular shooter, besides, he was caring, loyal and compassionate. He was many things Keith wasn’t, and for that, Keith admired him.</p>
<p>“Anyway, we better wash those, right?” Lance said as he took the almost empty cup from Keith hands, clearly wanting to change the subject, “Hunk will kill us if we leave dirty dishes around his precious kitchen.”</p>
<p>He put them in the sink and started soaping them. Keith stood up and walked towards him, not wanting to just leave with the things like that, but neither knowing what he could do to make Lance understand what he thought of him, so he just stood beside him, thinking.</p>
<p>“Are you going to stand there like an idiot the whole night?”</p>
<p>“Ah, no, sorry. I was just, thinking, about what you said before. About yourself” Lance looked at him, confusion written all over his face. “I don’t- I don’t think you are annoying at all, you know?”</p>
<p>“Yeah right,” Lance turned his head to the dishes again, “look, you don’t have to pity me or whatever, it’s alright, really. I’m kinda used to it by now anyways, and what can I do about it if that’s just the truth?”</p>
<p>“See Lance? That’s the problem, you just- just, you know, accept it, like it was the truth, and it just isn’t.” Keith grunted, desperate that he just couldn’t form the right fucking words. “Damn it, I mean, look at me. I'm trying so hard to make you see how I see you and I can’t even find the right words to do it. If you were the one in my situation you would have already said what was needed to be said, and I would feel much more better by now, because you seem to understand people even when they can’t understand themselves, and you always have the right words for every goddamn situation. You are amazing with people, you make others feel comfortable around you, and you are also such a good teammate and friend, always caring for the others and making sure they’re doing well.</p>
<p>“And the talent. Oh lord, don’t even let me start with the talent part. You are such a good pilot fighter, an amazing hand to hand fighter. You are our Sharpshooter. You can fight, you can cook, you can dance, and now I learn you can also sing, and you’re so fucking good at it, damn it. I mean, is there something you can’t do?”</p>
<p>“I´ve never been really good at drawing actually, or in math,” Lance said casually.</p>
<p>“Okay, that, but it doesn’t matter. Really Lance, you definitely are amazing in lots of things, and you aren’t annoying at all. I don’t think nobody in this castle thinks so, and I definitely don’t think so.”</p>
<p>“Thanks man, really, I mean it. I- I just, I thought that you- that you. Thank you, Keith, seriously, thank you for that.” Lance stared at the sink, a real smile in his lips this time, even if it was a little one.</p>
<p>“No problem man, anytime. I’m here if you need to talk or something, I’m might not be really good at it but if it helps you, I will do it. We’re a team, after all, we have to take care of each other backs, right?”</p>
<p>“Hah. Right, right.”</p>
<p>They stayed silent while Lance finished cleaning the cups and spoons. Keith took the towel and dried them before putting them back in the pantry. He looked back to Lance and saw him staring to the wall, eyes lost and sadness in his features. So, it was something else what was bothering him.</p>
<p>“You okay man?” he asked softly. Lance seemed surprised to hear him, like he had forgotten he was standing there at all.</p>
<p>“Yeah, fine. Just, thinking.”</p>
<p>“Alright,” Keith decided not to pry anymore, too much for the night and he definitely didn’t want to make Lance uncomfortable again, “I do have a question, about the song you were singing earlier.” Lance looked quite confused about the sudden question.</p>
<p>“What about it?”</p>
<p>“I, don’t know. I just really liked it but, I couldn’t actually understand it so I wanted to know about it, you know?” Keith walked closer to Lance.</p>
<p>“Oh, oh- ok I guess.” He chuckled again, hand scratching his head. “Well, it’s just an old song, I guess. It’s in Spanish so that’s why you couldn’t understand it.”</p>
<p>“And what does it say?” Keith pried; eyes filled with curiosity.</p>
<p>Lance’s cheeks suddenly lit, bright and red. He looked to the side, embarrassed.</p>
<p>“Nothing interesting, really. It’s just a love song, about growing old together and loving the small things from the other, that kind of cheesy, sappy stuff, you know? My mama loves that song and she used to play it a lot. Sometimes she sang it to me, when I was sad or felt bad in general. It’s just a really familiar song to me, that’s all.”</p>
<p>Lance sight was on the floor, lost and full of nostalgia once again. That’s when the realization hit Keith like a brick. Lance missed his home, his family.</p>
<p>“You really miss them, don’t you?” Keith asked, the other just nodded, tears already forming on his eyes, probably from talking about his mom.</p>
<p>Keith wasn’t a really touchy person. He felt kind of uncomfortable when others touched him too suddenly, but he knew that this was something he had to do. Slowly, he draped his arms around Lance, holding him tightly. He rubbed one hand over the others back, trying to comforting him. He halted to a stop when the other shoulders started shaking, a sob breaking form his throat.</p>
<p>Tears started dampening the cloth in Keith shoulder, but he couldn’t bring himself to care, not when long arms were embracing him back, holding strongly, like Lance was afraid that Keith would suddenly disappear.</p>
<p>They stayed like this for a long time, Lance crying softly on Keith’s shoulder, the other just holding him tight. In some moment, Keith heard Lance say softly, mostly to himself, “Los extraño mucho a todos”. Keith didn’t know what it meant, but he knew it was important. He just kept on quietly saying “We’re here for you Lance”, “Calm down, I’m right here” and “I’m not going anywhere”.</p>
<p>At some point Lance stopped crying and they stood there, embracing and comforting each other. Lance’s face deeply buried in Keith’s shoulder, Keith’s hand carding through chocolate hair strands. They felt like they could stay like that forever, sleep and tiredness long gone. The two boys held each other for a little longer, knowing that soon another day would start and they would have to keep going with their lives, but right now? Right now, they were fine.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>So, this was my attempt at singing Lance, hope you enjoyed. A small one-shot as a commission for my lovely friend. English is not my mother tongue, so if you see any typos let me know! </p>
<p>The song Lance was singing is Disfruto, by Carla Morrison. I was inspired by a cover of it, but sadly, it isn't in any platform. If you want to listen to the original one to have a clue of what he  could have sounded like, just click <a href="https://youtu.be/jwP1HRmDVII">here</a></p></blockquote></div></div>
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